Suspension framework



1962 J. J. RIBBENS 'ETAL 3,

SUSPENSION FRAMEWORK Filed April 7, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 3 l l I I lI I g I I I I INVENT0RS-l JACOB J.e/55Ms I" 123" I By 2/0/1420 c. 057301207 I F- Dec. 11, 196 J. J. RIBBENS ETAL SUSPENSION FRAMEWORK sSheefs-Shet 2 Filed April '7, 1961 INVENTORS. uncoa a; mass/vs By,e/c/mea CD'fl/AEDT ilnited drama This invention relates to a suspensionfiling rack, and more particularly to one comprising vertical framemembers in the plane of the rear wall of the frame, with a plurality ofhorizontal suspension rails which act as transerse connecting framemembers, and having detachable side walls, a top, and a bottom member sothat the entire front face of the rack is open for access to filecontainers hanging from and in front of the suspension rails.

This application is in part a continuation of our copending applicationSerial No. 27,701, filed May 9, 1960, entitled Suspension Framework,which became U.S. Patent 3,031,088 on April 24, 1962, and directedprimarily to the frame members and suspension rack connection features.

In the aforesaid copending application there is described and claimed asuspension type of filing framework in which vertical members or postsare tied together by horizontal members without the need to use boltsand nuts, and file containers are suspended from the horizontal member.This type of filing or storage equipment has advantages over theconventional sliding drawer type of filing cabinet. For example, itconserves space because it does not have drawers which slide in and outof a cabinet. Also this suspension type of structure is inexpensive andit is easy to assemble and install and to disassemble.

Another type of suspension filing equipment is that described in WernerH. Furrer US. Patent No. 2,974,807, issued March 14, 1961, onapplication Serial No. 619,194, filed October 30, 1956, entitledSuspension Filing Rack. The Furrer structure employs bolts and screwsfor fastening the parts together but it provides many of the ad vantagesof the structure of our copending application.

The present invention relates to improvements upon the filing andstorage equipment of our copending application and of the said Furrerpatent. More particularly it relates to means whereby said equipment isprovided with a housing and a base.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved suspension rackof the general character described.

Another object is to provide improved elements of such a rack, in theform of vertical support members, side Walls, intermediate supportbrackets and top and bottom members which cooperate by interlockingwithout the use of fasteners, to form a stable structure.

Another particular object is to provide simple elements or componentswhich may be formed by simple bending, punching and spot-weldingoperations on the thin sheet steel or other metal which may beparticularly adapted for this purpose.

These and other objects and advantages will be further apparent from thefollowing description and the appended drawings, which form a part ofthis specification and illustrate a preferred example of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a filing rack embodying theinvention, with both file containers and a movable work shelf suspendedfrom the fronts of the suspension rails.

FIGURE 2 is an end view of two suspension rails and the work shelf ofthe rack of FIGURE 1, with the right hand side wall removed, tofacilitate showing of these members.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the lower end of 'atent Patented Dec.11, 1962 the left hand side wall, showing the preferred means forconnecting it to the base support of the vertical post member.

FIGURE 3a is a fragmentary vertical section view taken through the lowerend of the left-hand side wall showing how the structure of FIGURE 3 isconnected to the adjacent base support for the respective vertical postmember.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the upper end ofthe side Wall of FIGURE 3 showing its connection to the vertical postmember of that figure.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a top member and an intermediatesupport bracket in place on a vertical post member.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view, partially in section along line 66of FIGURES 4 and 5, showing further details of the top members, supportbracket and vertical post members.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the lower end of a vertical member andits base support with one lower suspension rail in place.

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal sectional view on line 8-8 of the arrangementof FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a vertical sectional view on line 9-9 of FIGURE 7, showing apreferred arrangement of vertical and base support members and a lowersuspension rail in assembled relation.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE 1, a suspensionframe or filing rack is there shown which is generally designated by thereference number 10. In this example it comprises three vertical postmembers 11 (two of which are shown and the other concealed behind theright hand side wall) and a large number of horizontal cross members orsuspension rails 12. Several file containers 13 are shown suspended fromone of the suspension rails 12. These may be of any suitableconstruction, e.g., of the type described and claimed in our copendingapplication above mentioned and they include a body portion on 13ahaving spaced side walls, a rear wall and a bottom, and having a hook13b at the rear for suspension from the rails 12. As explained in ourcopending application, the rails 12 are preferably spaced apart so that(as shown in FIGURE 1 of the present application) the lower rear edge ofeach file container will abut the rail next below.

The filing rack ill shown in FIGURE 1 also comprises right hand and lefthand side walls 14; cover members or bottom panels 15a for base members115 (see FIGURE 7); and top panels or members 16. The present inventionconcerns primarily the novel relations and interlocking constructions ofthese members which Will now be described in considerable detail, withreference to the remaining figures of the drawings.

Referring first to FIGURES 7 and 9 the vertical post member 11 isillustrated as a hollow box member comprising two side flanges 17 and 18connected by a face or web 19 having one or two vertically andhorizontally spaced rows of perforations 20. These latter serving toreceive and to support horizontal suspension rails 12. Posts at the endsof the rack 1% need only one vertical row of perforations, right or lefthand, as required, but intermediate posts, as illustrated in FIGURE 7,will o-bviously required, two horizontally spaced rows. Desirably eachsuspension rail is a flanged section having a wide vertical flange 21, anarrow bottom web 22 and a narrow upstanding front flange 23. Near eachend of rail 12 and in its vertical flange 21, upper and lower holes 24and 25 are punched out to form downturned rearwardly extending hooks 26and 27 which project through and engage corresponding perforations Ztlin the face 19 of vertical post member 11, as best shown in FIGURE 9.Be-

L3 tween holes 24 and 25 o flange 21 is a third hole 23 which is punchedout to form a vertical tab 29 that can be bent backwardly sidewaysthrough that perforation 29 between the two occupied by hooks 26 and 27.This retains the suspension rail 12 securely against the face of postnlember 17., and hooks 26 and 27 prevent it from sliding downwardlyunder the weight of file containers 13 and their contents. Bystraightening tab 29 back into the plane of flange 21, the rail 12 mayfirst be lifted slightly to disengage the hooks 26 and 27 from theperforations 2% and then brought forwardly to remove the rail when it isdesired to disassemble the unit. As shown in FIG- URES 7 and 9, eachrail 12 is formed with a top, rearwardly projecting flange 1211 whichhas a downturned portion at 12b. This flange may abut the adjacent post11 or it may be spaced therefrom.

The lower end of vertical post member 11 is illustrated in FIGURE 7 asbeing received in and secured as by weld 30 to base member 15 comprisingtwo upstanding side flanges 31 and 32 and a horizontal connecting web3-3, all extending forwardly from the rear face of post 11. lf it isdesired to make two suspension racks back to back these flanges and theconnecting Web can also extend rearwardly as indicated by the dottedlines of this figure. In this case, the post member 11 would have to berotated through 90 so that its flanges 17 and 18 would face the frontand back, respectively, and these flanges would be perforated as at 20to receive and sup port the front and rear suspension rails 12, as hasjust been described.

Desirably the front end 34 of web 33 of base 15 is somewhat longer thanside flanges 31 and 32, has a flat foot portion struck downwardly as at35 and is slotted longitudinally as at 36 for a purpose to be describedbelow. A similar foot 37 is desirably formed in web 33 beneath thebottom of vertical post member 11 as shown in FIGURE 8. Side flanges 31and 32 are notched as at 38 immediately in front of the front face ofpost member 11, this notch being wide enough to receive the narrowbottom web 22 and narrow front flange 23 of suspension rail 12, withenough space left over to receive and retain the rear downwardlyextending flange 39 of the bottom panel 15a, which will be describedlater in more detail.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is illustrated a portion of the lowerfront end of a side wall 14, in this case the left hand one, with astiffened vertical corner 40 extending throughout its length andcomprising a front web 41 and a rearwardly extending flange 42, thelatter notched shallowly as at 43. The entire lower end of the mainportion of the wall 14 is desirably bent closely upwardly and inwardlyas at 44, and then inwardly and downwardly as at to form a downwardlyopen clip that will overlie the upper edge of flange 31 of base member15 that projects forwardly from that vertical post member 11 whose upperend is shown in FIGURE 4. This retains the lower end of this side wall14 against the base member 15 of its post 11 without the use of anyother fastener. The lower end 42a of the corner flange 42 of the sidewall is received in the longitudinal slot 36 of the base member web 33,with the notched portion 43 overlying the downwardly extending foot 35of that web.

The inner face of the upper end of side wall 14 (FIG- URES 4 and 6) isprovided with a permanently secured downwardly extending short clip 46near its rear edge at a proper height to receive and overlie the upperend of the side flange 17 of the vertical post member 11. Thisdetachably secures the side wall 14 at its upper end to the open top ofpost member 11. The extreme upper end 14a of side wall 14 is bentinwardly at 47 to overlie the stiffened corner 40, web 41 and flange 42,and is bent downwardly at 43 and then upwardly at 49 to form a clip intowhich a downwardly extending flange 50 at the left side of the left handtop member 16 is adapted to be received. At the opposite side of thistop member 4 it? a similar downwardly extending flange 51 is adapted tobe engaged by and overlie an intermediate support bracket, best shown inFIGURES 5 and 6, which will now be described.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, the intermediate support bracket generallydesignated 52 comprises a forwardly extending channel formed bydowntnrned side flanges 53 54 and a horizontal connecting web 55. Therear of the bracket is formed by a U-shaped box section or clip means52a having a downwardly extending trans verse flange 56, a horizontalweb 57 and an upwardly extending transverse flange 58, the latterextending upwardly to terminate somewhat above the plane of web 55, andprovided with a central vertical slot 59 into which flange 51 of topmember 16 is received. Side flanges 53 and 5 5 erminate short oftransverse flange 56, leaving a space 64 for the upper end of the faceweb 19 of intermediate vertical post 11, as well as the vertical flange21 of the uppermost suspension rail 12. Thus the box member formed bytransverse flanges 56 and 58 and horizontal web 57 is received in theopen top of intermediate post member 11, With the inner ends of sideflanges 53 and 54 hearing against the upper suspension rail 12 andretaining it in position and also holding the whole intermediate bracket52 in a horizontal position projecting forwardly from its support post.

The front edge of top member 16 is desirably flanged downwardly as at 61to a distance that will overlie and cover the front end face of bracket52, as shown, and has a tab or lug portion 62 which extends rearwardlyin the plane of the side flange 50 at top member 16 to engage alongitudinal slot 63 in the end of bracket 52. Desirably, slot 63 at thefront of bracket 52 and slot 59 at the rear of this bracket are justwide enough to receive both side flanges 5t) and 51 of abutting topmembers 16 so that those members are detachably but securely retaincd onthe frame and serve to brace it against twisting. In addition, it isdesirable to provide a downwardly extending flange 64 at the rear edgeof top 16, as shown, to stiffen the latter.

Referring again to FIGURE 9 it will be noted that the bottom covermember 15:: is provided with a front flange or face 65 which overliesand conceals the front end faces of base members 15. Desirably, thelower edge of face 65 is bent rearwardly at 66 to form a finished edgeand also to underlie the outer end 34 of web 33 of that member. The endsof bottom cover member 15a are also flanged downwardly and inwardly asat 67 and 68, the former overlying the top edge of the base memberflange at the corner or side posts 11, and the latter engaging at itslower end the slot 36 in the web member 33 of the intermediate basemembers 15 as shown in FIGURE 9, thus adding to the stiffness of therack.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 a detachable, movable work shelf isshown which comprises a base 76, side walls 77, a back wall 78 and ahook 79. The hook 79 serves to suspend the work shelf from any of therails 12 and permits the shelf to the moved along the rail to anydesired position. The projecting rear edge 76a of the base 76 abuts therail below. The base 76 serves as a movable desk to be used by a fileclerk while using or recording data from files held by the filecontainers 13.

In conclusion, it will be apparent that the suspension rack describedand illustrated is characterized by its interlocking parts which providefor assembling and dismantling without the use of screws, or otherseparable fasteners, simplicity of fabrication and susceptibility ofbeing joined to form racks of substantial length. The resultingstructure is very stilf and rigid for its size and weight and has nosharp corners, projecting nuts or screws, which add to its safety andfacility in use.

Although a single example is shown and described, it is apparent thatnumerous modifications could be made without departing from theessential features of the inand end vention, and all such changes thatcome within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be embracedthereby.

We claim:

I. A side wall assembly for a vertical metal framework comprising anupright hollow post member, a forwardly extending base support for saidpost member, said support comprising an upwardly facing channel; a sidewall panel comprising a metal sheet having an inturned flange at itsupper end, a first downwardly facing clip below said flange on theinside face of said wall panel adjacent to its rear edge to engage theopen top of said post member, and a second downwardly facing clipadjacent to the lower end of said wall to engage the outer flange ofsaid base support.

2. A metal post member according to claim 1 with the addition of a firstfoot portion below the web of said channel base support at-its juncturewith said upright post member and a second foot portion adjacent to theouter end of the web of said channel, said foot portions being presseddownwardly from the plane of said web.

3. An intermediate top panel support bracket for a vertical metalframework having a plurality of hollow vertical post members in theplane of the back of said framework; said support bracket comprising achannel having downturned side flanges connected by a generallyhorizontal web, the rear end of said web forming a transverse box meansadapted to fit into the open top of one of said post members, the rearwall of said box means projecting upwardly above said web, and providedwith a central vertical slot, the side flanges of said bracket havingnotches spaced from the face of said transverse box means adapted tooverlie the front face of said post member. 1

4. A cabinet structure comprising atleast two upright post membershaving open upper ends,

a sheet metal side wallsecured to one of said post members and having anupturned clip along the inner top portion thereof, I

a top support member extending forwardly from the post member adjacentto said one post member,

clip means on the rear end of said top support member engaging the opentop of said adjacent post member to hold it in horizontal extensiontherefrom,

a flange on the rear end of said top support member having a verticalslot therein, and

a sheet metal top panel having down-turned flanges along its front, rearand end edges,

one end flange being received in the up-turned clip of said side wall,

the other end flange being received in said vertical slot and supportedon said top support member,

the front flange extending downward over the front end of said topsupport member.

5. The cabinet structure defined in claim 4 including a centralhorizontal slot in the front end of said top support bracket, and a adownwardly extending lug on said other end flange received in said slot.

6. A cabinet structure comprising: y

at least two upright post members each having open upper ends,

a forwardly extending base support for each of said post members,

. each of said base supports comprising an upwardly facing channelmember receiving the lower end of one of said post members,

a pair of side wall members of sheet material,

a first downwardly facing clip secured adjacent the upper end of each ofsaid side wall members engaging the open upper end of one :of said postmembers, and,

a second downwardly facing clip adjacent the lower end of said each sidewall member engaging the outer flange of a channel base support.

7. The cabinet structure defined in claim 11 including notches in theflanges of each of said channel base supports adjacent to the uprightpost member received therein, and

a bottom panel of sheet material having down-turned flanges along itsfront and rear edges,

the rear flange of said bottom panel being received in the notches ofthe base support flanges,

said front flange thereof extending downwardly over the front ends ofsaid base supports.

8. The cabinet structure defined in claim 7 including a longitudinalslot in the outer end of the web of each of said channel supportmembers, and

rearward extensions on the ends of the front flange of said bottom paneladapted to be received in said slot.

9; The cabinet structure defined in claim 6 including a longitudinalslot in the outer end of the web of each of saidchannel support members,

an inwardly directed narrow front panel on each of said sidewallmembers, and

a rearwardly directed flange on said front panel received in said slot.1

10. A cabinet structure comprising:

a pair of upright hollow post members each having at least three closedsides,

a channel base support secured to the lower end of each of said postmembers to extend forwardly from one side of said member,

a cross member secured between said pair of post members,

a pair of side wall members of sheet material,

a first downwardly facing clip secured adjacent the upper end of each ofsaid side wall members engaging v the open upper end of one of said postmembers, and,

a second downwardly facing clip adjacent the lower end of said side wallmember engaging portions on said channel base support.

11. The cabinet structure defined in claim 10 including alongitudinalslot in the outer end of each of said channel base supports,

an inwardly directed narrow front panel on each of said side wallmembers, and

a rearward extension on the end of said front panel received in saidslot.

12. A cabinet structure comprising at least three upright post memberseach having open upper ends,

a forwardly extending base support for each of said post members,

- each of said base supports comprising an upwardly facing channelmember receiving the lower end of one of said post members,

a pair of side walls of sheet material, a

a first downwardly facing clip adjacent the rear edge of each of saidside walls engaging the open top-of an outer one of said upright postmembers,

a second downwardly facing clip adjacent the lower end of said each sidewall engaging the outer flange of a channel base support,

a top support bracket for each intermediate one of said upright postmembers,

each of said support brackets comprising a channel having down-turnedside flanges connected by a web, the rear aligned slots in said sideflanges adjacent the rear end of said support bracket forming a clipfitting into the open upper end of an intermediate one of said postmembers,

a vertical wall on said support bracket projecting above the top of thepost member and having a vertical slot therein, and

a top panel of sheet material having down-turned flanges along itsfront, rear and end edges,

one end flange of said top panel being received in the 7 slot in thevertical wall on said support bracket with the front flange extendingdownward over at least a portion of the front end of said supportbracket. 13. A cabinet structure comprising at least three hollowupright post members, a forwardly extending base support for each ofsaid post members, each of said base supports comprising an upwardlyfacing channel member receiving the lower end of one of said postmembers,

a top support bracket for each intermediate one of said upright postmembers,

each of said top support brackets including a horizontal web and a clipmember at the rear end thereof fitting into the open upper end of anintermediate one of said post members,

a vertical wall at the rear end of said support bracket projecting abovesaid horizontal web and having a vertical slot therein, and

a series of horizontal cross members secured between adjacent pairs ofsaid post members,

downwardly directed hooks in the ends of said cross members engaged inperforations in said post members.

14. The cabinet structure defined in claim 13 including transverselyaligned notches in the flanges of each of said channel base supportsadjacent to the upright post member received therein,

one of said cross members being received in said notches.

15. A cabinet structure comprising:

at least two upright post members each having open upper ends,

a forwardly extending base support for each of said post members,

each of said base supports comprising an upwardly facing channel memberreceiving the lower end of one of said post members,

a side wall member of sheet material,

a first downwardly facing clip secured adjacent the upper end of saidside Wall member engaging the open upper end of one of said postmembers,

a second downwardly facing clip adjacent the lower end of said side wallmember engaging the outer flange of a channel base support,

a top panel support member extending forwardly from the other postmember,

a top panel, and

complementary interlocking means on the upper end of said side wallmember and an adjacent end of said top panel,

the other end of said top panel being supported on said support member.

16. A cabinet structure comprising at least three upright post memberseach having open upper ends,

a forwardly extending channel base support secured to the lower end ofeach of said post members,

a pair of side walls of sheet material,

a first downwardly facing clip adjacent the rear edge of each of saidpairs of side walls engaging the open top of an outer one of saidupright post members,

a second downwardly facing clip adjacent the lower end of said each sidewall engaging the outer flange of said channel base support,

a top support bracket for each intermediate one of said upright postmembers,

each of said support brackets comprising a channel having down-turnedside flanges connected by a web, the rear end of said web forming atransverse box means fitting into the open upper end of an intermediateone of said post members,

the rear wall of said box means projecting above the top of the postmember and having a vertical slot therein,

top panels of sheet material having down-turned flanges along theirfront and end edges extending between adjacent pairs of said postmembers,

one end flange of each of said top panels being received in the slot inthe rear Wall of said box means with the rear flange extending downwardalong said rear Wall and the front flange extending downward over atleast a portion of the front end of said support bracket, and

a member on the upper end of each of said side walls interlocking withan end flange of one of said top panels.

17. A cabinet structure comprising at least two post members having openupper ends,

a support bracket comprising a channel having downturned side flangesconnected by a web,

transversely aligned notches in said side flanges adjacent the rear endthereof forming a clip fitting into the open upper end of a post, and

a top panel supported at one end on said bracket and at the other end onportions carried on the other post member.

18. A cabinet structure comprising at least two post members having openupper ends,

a support bracket comprising a channel having downturned side flangesconnected by a generally horizontal web,

the rear end of said web forming a transverse box means fitting into theopen top of one of said post members,

the rear wall of said box means projecting above said web and having acentral vertical slot,

the side flanges of said bracket having notches to overlie the frontface of said one post member, and

a top panel supported at one end on said bracket and at the other end onportions carried on the other post member,

said top panel having a down-turned flange on said one end received insaid vertical slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,472,897 Anderson Nov. 6, 1923 1,928,432 Murton Sept. 26, 19332,144,646 Zalkind Jan. 24, 1939 2,409,212 Kautz Oct. 15, 1946 2,447,704Kline Aug. 24, 1948 2,466,882 Echlin Apr. 12, 1949 2,787,382 WilliamsApr. 2, 1957 2,803,351 Van Wiggern Aug. 20, 1957 2,808,944 Jones Oct. 8,1957 2,974,807 Furrer Mar. 14, 1961 2,991,038 Vitiello July 4, 1961FOREIGN PATENTS 718,222 Great Britain Nov. 10, 1954

